"You didn’t have to come all the way here to pick me up," Elowen said, breaking free from his embrace. "I don’t want to trouble you."
"It’s not trouble. I wanted to do this. And I’ll come to pick you up every day."
There was no hesitation in his voice. No trace of deceit in his eyes, only tenderness. A kind of tenderness Elowen had not seen from him in years.
Instead of reassuring her, it made her even more suspicious.
"You used to stay late at the office. You would never return early, no matter what."
She still remembered calling him when Seraphina had been running a fever. She had begged him to come home and check on their daughter. But he had refused.
’I am not a doctor. If she is sick, take her to the hospital. Don’t disturb me. I’m busy.’
Those were his words.
Yet he was standing in front of her office, waiting to take her home.
"You didn’t even care about whether Sera and I needed you. You told me not to disturb you while you were working. What changed now?"
Soren knew earning her trust wouldn’t be easy. No explanation would be enough to erase seven years of neglect. But he was patient.
He wouldn’t waste his time trying to convince her. He would show her that he had changed.
"Are you going to interrogate me right here in front of your office? I’m hungry. Let’s go and eat first."
Soren ushered her into the car before she could continue arguing.
A moment later, they were driving down the road.
Elowen sat quietly, but her heart raced faster and faster.
In seven years of marriage, he had taken her out to dinner rarely. Most of those occasions had happened only because his grandfather had pressured him. She could count them on her fingers.
But he hated to be coerced. He had accused her of manipulating his grandfather into forcing him to spend time with her. And now, he was taking her out willingly.
Something wasn’t right. She was certain of it.
’Maybe he has finally changed his mind. Maybe he is regretting tearing up that divorce agreement. Perhaps he has finally made up his mind to end this marriage.’
She assumed he was taking her to dinner to ask her to sign the divorce papers again.
The thought of him going back to Tahlia still hurt her. Her eyes burned, but she refused to shed the tears.
’I signed the divorce papers before. I can do it again. I’ll leave him without a complaint.’
She told herself she could do it. Yet her heart ached. She dug her nails into her bag.
Soon, the car stopped in front of a luxurious restaurant.
Soren got out first and walked around to her side. He opened the door for her and extended his hand.
Elowen stepped out, not even glancing at him, let alone taking his hand.
Soren’s expression froze. His hand remained suspended in the air.
’It’s okay,’ he told himself. ’One day, she will take my hand.’
His smile resumed the next second as he followed her inside.
They sat at an empty table.
Soren took the menu. He ordered the food without asking what she would like to eat.
"Garlic butter prawn, oyster, and seafood pasta. And bring some grilled vegetables."
He was confident Elowen would love it. A quiet pride brimmed in his eyes.
Elowen had prepared different seafood dishes countless times over the years. In his mind, he was certain she liked seafood. But he never realized the truth.
Elowen watched him quietly.
’He doesn’t even ask me once what I want to eat. He still doesn’t know.’
Elowen lowered her gaze.
She had developed a severe intolerance to seafood years ago. The smell itself made her feel sick. But she had never told him.
Her mind drifted back to all the evenings she had cooked seafood for him while trying to ignore the growing nausea. Sometimes the smell became so unbearable that she had to rush to the washroom and vomit until her throat hurt.
Yet, she had returned to the kitchen and finished preparing his favorite dish—because Soren loved it.
Back then, loving him meant putting his preference before anything else. Seeing him enjoy something she had prepared had once been enough for her to ignore her own discomfort.
But she was tired now. She would no longer sacrifice herself for someone who barely noticed.
’I won’t do it again. I won’t keep giving up the things I like just to make him happy.’
The food arrived. The moment the dishes were placed on the table, the strong smell made her stomach twist violently.
Elowen covered her nose.
Soren frowned. "What is it? I thought you would love the food."
A thought occurred in his mind.
’Damn. She is pregnant.’ The confusion vanished. ’Maybe pregnancy made her sensitive to the smell. Maybe it triggered morning sickness.’
"What’s wrong, Elowen? Are you not feeling well? Shall I take you to the hospital?"
The hope ignited in his heart. ’She won’t be able to hide her pregnancy anymore.’
Elowen’s heart instantly dropped.
Hospital?
Absolutely not.
’I can’t let him find out about my pregnancy.’
"There is no need." She forced herself to remain calm. "I don’t like seafood. I hate the smell." She made a face.
Soren’s jaw dropped. At first, he couldn’t believe it. "No, you like seafood. You often cooked it."
He thought she was saying this because she was still mad at him.
"Yes, I did. Because you love it. I cooked your favorite food so you could eat happily, not because I love eating it. I am allergic to seafood."
What?
Soren’s thoughts scattered. "I-I didn’t know," he stuttered.
"Yes, you didn’t know. You never tried to know me. In reality, you never cared about my likes or dislikes. You do whatever you want."
Guilt came crashing down on him.
Elowen had been allergic to seafood, yet she had cooked it for him over and over again just to make him happy.
And he... he had never bothered to appreciate her, never truly paid attention to her. He had simply assumed that because she prepared something for him, she must enjoy it too.
"When you were ordering the food, you didn’t ask me what I wanted to eat," she continued. "You just ordered."
"I..." Soren tried to say something, but he couldn’t form a proper word. For the first time, he realized how little he actually knew about the woman who had been his wife for seven years.
"I am sorry," he apologized, his voice rough with guilt. "I’ll change. I swear. Please don’t be mad, Elowen. I..."
"Save it, Soren. Nothing has changed in seven years. I stopped expecting..."
Sudden nausea seized her stomach. She covered her mouth and stood abruptly.
"Elowen..." He started to rise, but Elowen already ran away.
Soren wanted to go after her. But in the end, he didn’t go.
’She needs some time alone.’
His gaze dropped to the untouched dishes. A bitter expression crossed his face.
"Waiter..."
The waiter hurried over. "Sir, do you need anything?"
"Take these away. My wife doesn’t like them."
The waiter hesitated for a moment before clearing the dishes from the table.
Across the room, Theron watched everything quietly. A mocking smile curled his lips.
’You don’t even know what she likes to eat, even after staying with her for seven years. Soren, you don’t deserve to be her husband. Since you don’t value her, I’ll cherish her. I’ll give her so much love that one day, she won’t even remember your existence.’
He stood up and strode away.
Inside the restroom...
Elowen leaned against the counter, breathing heavily. She wiped her mouth and looked at herself in the mirror.
’If I keep getting sick like this in front of him, he will suspect something. I can’t stay with him any longer. I have to divorce him.’
She clasped the edge of the counter. "This marriage is already over. I don’t want to be with him anymore."
Tears fell, but she wiped them away and went out. She almost collided with a tall figure. She stepped back instantly.
"Sorry..."
When she looked up, her expression froze.
The man standing before her was none other than her new boss.
"Mr. Knox?"